Xochi's breathing was heavy as she kneeled in the ashes of the palace. Thuren floated a few feet off the ground looking down at her. "It seems your power is great but also the toll for wielding it. How much of your life did you just burn away?" Xochi could only scowl at him while she struggled to catch her breath. Thuren landed in front of Xochi and reached down for her but stopped short and casually stepped back barely avoiding a wave of energy that cleaved through the mud between them. Xochi and Thuren looked over to find Mul holding the broken blade with a smug grin on his face. "A child with a broken sword challenges me now? Come let's see what your world can offer me." Thuren taunted. Mul didn't respond instead a breeze blew by and the image of Mul blew away with it. Mul appeared over Thuren catching him off guard. Thuren's startled reaction was to summon a tar tentacle to block Mul's slash. Mul sliced the tentacle apart, giving Thuren time to jump back. "Are you alright, your majesty?" Mul asked. Xochi struggled to stand out of the mud. "On this battlefield we are equals. Call me Xochi." "With all due respect, your majesty, no." Mul replied. He pointed the broken blade at Thuren and smiled. "I finally got you in front of me, after all this time. Question, do you remember any of the people you've hurt, manipulated or killed?" "Only those I've killed with my own hands." Thuren replied with a modicum of remorse in his voice. "Now that I look at you, you remind me of a tenacious young woman from Terrabe whose hair was braided similarly to yours. Your mother I assume?" Mul's body trembled with anger for a moment until he took a deep breath and exhaled all his animosity out through his nose leaving only focus. "Yeah, that was her." He replied. For the first time Thuren took a battle stance "Then come show me the world she couldn't."

Lukohé commanded the golden sand like a conductor directing an orchestra. He weaved the sand into a wisp-like substance by following the text in the book Sahn placed on the ground front of him. "Okay I believe this is what you were describing. Now what?" Lukohé asked but received no answer. He looked up and noticed Sahn's focus was elsewhere. Even Xtabay was captivated by what was taking place across the muddy field. Lukohé turned to witness the cruel brutality that was on display. Cloaked in a dim glow Mul repeatedly lopped off Thuren's limbs with the broken blade. Unable to defend Thuren could only manage to regenerate the severed limbs as they were cut off. He managed to kick Mul away, putting some distance between them and summoned five tentacles. But when they emerged from their tears they immediately corroded. "What?" Thuren audibly asked. "I cannot assist you, that blade has infected me with something." Suma replied inside his head. "Must have been that first slash." He thought in response. Mul once again positioned himself in front of Xochi. "Hey your majesty, can you get on with whatever the plan was because these things won't stay together forever. I honestly didn't expect him to still be standing after cutting off his head twelve times." Xochi looked over at Mul and Lukohé who were watching the action instead of coming up with the way to win. "What are you two doing!? Get on with it!" She yelled with a rumble of thunder accompanying her voice. The two of them were startled back to what they were doing. "R-right, I believe I've got what you were looking for, Sahn." Lukohé once again weaved the sand into the black wisp. "What now?" He asked. "We need to form that into something that can hold him." Sahn answered. "Like what?" Lukohé questioned. Sahn shrugged his shoulders. "What about shackles?" Xtabay added. Sahn and Lukohé nodded in agreement and the wisp morphed into two black cuffs held together by a black chain. Thuren's gaze narrowed on the three of them. He ignored Mul and the queen and charged for them. Mul moved to intercept but the broken blade shattered back into the three separate Anemoi blades. Xtabay shifted into her serpent form when suddenly the roots of the dead trees that had surrounded the palace erupted from the swamp and wrapped themselves around Thuren. "Now what?" Thuren growled as he struggled to rip free of the roots. As each root was torn away another took its place and Thuren could feel his strength being sapped away. "Suma what's happening?" He asked. "It's like before." She replied weakly. "Heaheaheaheaheahea!" A wheeze of a laugh echoed throughout the area as Impetigo in his new human form emerged from the tree line, the shadowy mist oozed from his mouth and soaked into the mud. "Kaba!” Lukohé called out but Impetigo ignored him. Lukohé quickly read the situation. "Don't let him absorb Thuren's essence!" He called out. Without hesitation Mul picked up Eurus and sprinted toward Impetigo. Impetigo caught Mul's blade mid attack and smiled grotesquely at him. However Xochi was already behind Impetigo and pointed Notus at the back of his neck. At the same time Xtabay washed Thuren in a torrent of Scarlet flames burning the roots away and severely burning Thuren. Sahn quickly grabbed the black shackles and jumped over to an unconscious Thuren and snapped the shackles around his wrists. Golden sand emerged from the ground and covered Thuren before morphing into a giant stone block trapping Thuren inside. "Well that didn't go as I planned it but seems it worked out anyway." Sahn remarked jokingly. "What do you mean?" Lukohé asked, walking up behind him. "He was supposed to get sucked into the shackles but it seems like it just cut him off from his power source." Lukohé looked confused. "Well we need a place to put him." Sahn placed his hand on Lukohé's shoulder. "We can ask the old man."

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